The National Assembly has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to obtain $2.347 billion in foreign loans to help finance the 2025 budget deficit and refinance Nigeria’s maturing Eurobonds.
The approval, granted by both the Senate and the House of Representatives, also authorises the issuance of a $500 million debut Sovereign Sukuk in the international capital market.
In the House of Representatives, the decision followed the adoption of a report by the Committee on Aids, Loans, and Debt Management, chaired by Abubakar Nalaraba, during a plenary session presided over by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
According to the committee’s report, $1.23 billion will be used to fund the 2025 budget deficit, while $1.12 billion is earmarked for refinancing Eurobonds due in November 2025.
The House authorised the Federal Government to execute the external borrowing component of the 2025 Appropriation Act, estimated at about ₦1.84 trillion (approximately $1.23 billion at ₦1,500 to $1). It also approved that the funds may be sourced through Eurobond issuance, syndicated loans, bridge financing, or direct borrowing from international financial institutions.
Similarly, the Senate approved the President’s request to secure a total of $2.847 billion in new foreign loans, including the $500 million Sukuk bond, after adopting a report presented by its Committee on Local and Foreign Debts chaired by Senator Wamakko Aliyu (APC, Sokoto North).
The Senate’s report detailed that $2.347 billion will be raised from the international capital market to finance the 2025 budget, while $500 million from the Sovereign Sukuk will support critical infrastructure projects across the country.
This approval comes amid rising public concern over Nigeria’s growing debt burden, which the Debt Management Office recently estimated at over ₦97 trillion as of mid-2025.
While critics have warned that continued borrowing could increase fiscal strain, government officials insist that strategic external financing remains essential to sustaining economic growth, closing infrastructure gaps, and maintaining investor confidence.
